Some Back to School Art Ideas: Self Portraits

Posted on August 20, 2009 by artlessonsforkids

The holidays are sadly over and it’s time to think about what to do the first week back at school. It’s always exciting to start a new school year but I need some inspiration soon as my brain is still at the beach in Thailand!

Anyway, I thought I would share with you some ideas I started with my previous year. All About Me themes are always popular in the elementary grades so here are some self portrait ideas that I hope will inspire you. I would love to hear some of your ideas too.

Here we go…

Giant self portraits in grade four

This was a fun project the kids loved. These self portraits were HUGE and a bit time consuming but very worth doing.

Cardboard life sized self portraits in grade five

I love cardboard and I remember the school was brand new at the time so there was tons of it everywhere. Being the recycle queen that I am ( and ALL art teachers are ) I decided why not make life sized self portraits with the grade five class? It was a hit!

Self portraits with construction paper in grade one

Grade ones loved making their life sized portraits with butcher paper. Get the kids into pairs and have them outline each other. This is also a great way for them to get to know each other. The kids paint in the details and then add a life sized photograph of their faces and you have a winner here!

Progressive self portraits in grade two

These self portraits were awesome and showed a real improvement in facial placement. The grade twos did three progressive self portraits and were quite surprised to see how they got better with each try.

Need more ideas for your portraits and self-portraits theme? Check Fun with Self-Portraits and Fun With Self-Portraits II e-books you can download now and save tons of planning time.

Have fun!

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Art Lessons E-Book!

Posted on July 27, 2009 by artlessonsforkids

Well I finally got around to it! After receiving several requests for down-loadable lesson plans I have actually sat down and done something about it. It’s hard when you juggle motherhood and a career but since I am on holiday now and my son is vacationing with his dad I have no excuse. So here it is folks– FUN ART PROJECTS FOR ANYTIME is an 18 page collection of six fun art activities that your kids or students can do easily and require inexpensive materials that I’m sure you have around your house or classroom. There are plenty of photos and step by step instruction. This is my first PDF e-book!! I feel so proud I actually did it. The best news is that it’s only 5 dollars to buy!

If you would like to purchase a copy, click on the image or title of the e-book. You can also go to my Lessons Download page to see what’s new. Of course I will continue to fill this blog with lots of free lessons as usual.

Art Lessons for Anytime

Falling Back Self Portraits in Grade Five

Posted on July 7, 2009 by artlessonsforkids

I saw this idea in Oodles of Art and thought I would give it a try with my grade five class. I gave out 18×24 white paper and we discussed what someone falling back might look like from a bird’s eye.

Next, everyone thought about a place they might like to ‘fall back ‘ into. It could be a real setting or make-believe.

Once everyone had chosen their background they were ready to begin drawing. They took off their shoes and outlined them at the bottom of the page- their shoe bottom should show the detailed texture found on the bottom of their shoe. Next they outlined their hands with open fingers on the sides of the paper. Have the students work in pairs with the outlining part of the lesson.

Finally the kids added their head and body and all of the details. They outlined their work with a black marker and colored in with pencils and crayons or oil pastels. A watered down paint wash was added to the background.

Pretty neat huh?

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